Jeremy sat by the open window, staring into the empty sky.
There was tension in the air — a restlessness without a source. He'd always been sensitive to disturbances, but now he felt them with terrifying clarity.
Something had happened.
He reached for his phone. No messages from Julie. No activity for hours. That wasn't like her.
He grabbed his jacket and left. The school was already locked, but he knew the back entrance — the one that never worked quite right.
He slipped inside, the tension mounting with every step.
Library. Empty. Gym — nothing. Until finally, he reached the biology lab.
And froze.
In the corner, Julie sat curled up, arms wrapped around her knees, head buried in her hands. She was trembling. The surrounding air was different. Thicker. Darker.
"Julie?" he whispered, stepping closer. "What happened?"
She lifted her head. Her eyes were glazed, and on her cheek was a faint mark — like a burn. But not a physical one. Something deeper.
"She was here," she said, her voice empty. "She touched me. And... I don't know what she did. I can feel it inside. Like she planted something in me."
Jeremy knelt beside her. His heart was pounding like a hammer.
"Who?"
"Rosalie," she whispered. "She's not just a dream anymore. She's here."
Jeremy lowered his head and closed his eyes. The flame inside him — the one he inherited from his father — trembled.
Something inside him tore open. Something unstoppable.
"She should never have touched you," he said coldly. "She has no idea what she's just done."
She looked at him, confused.
But he already knew.
This wasn't a time for questions.
It was a time for action.
*
Jeremy stood on the roof of an abandoned parking garage, just beyond the forest line.
The night was thick, heavy with moisture — and something else. An old magic that didn't belong to this place.
In his hand, he held a lit candle — not for romance, but for ritual.
Fire was the only element he truly controlled. His father's legacy.
His instinct. His weapon.
He closed his eyes and spoke her name.
"Rosalie."
He didn't need to shout. He knew she'd hear.
She always did.
Before the flame could die out, the air before him shivered.
A cold gust cut through the space, and then, as if emerging from smoke, she appeared.
Tangible. Real.
Rosalie.
She didn't look like a demon. She didn't even look like a girl.
She was something in between — too beautiful to be human, too serene to be safe.
"I didn't expect you to be the one to call me first," she said softly, tilting her head. "That's new, Jeremy. Have you grown up?"
"You touched Julie," he growled. "You crossed a line."
"Oh really? Lines?"
She laughed, quiet and sharp, resting her hands on her hips.
"I thought you knew better. We don't have lines, you and I. We're the same story, just told in different voices."
"You're wrong."
He stepped closer.
There was something unsettling in his eyes — a flicker of power he no longer tried to hide.
"If you hurt her again, if you ever make her your target again... I won't hold back."
"And what then? You'll let out what your mother tried so hard to keep hidden? Let the demon blood speak through you?"
Her voice dropped to a whisper — intimate, dangerous.
"Because I did. And I'm not afraid of what comes next."
Silence hung between them for a moment.
Then Rosalie smiled, wider this time.
"Julie isn't strong, Jeremy. She'll break. A little more each day. And you'll watch. Until one day you'll see the truth — that only I can survive everything you are. And then... you'll come back."
Jeremy clenched his fists.
He didn't answer.
He simply turned and walked off the roof, leaving Rosalie in the cold, trembling air.
But something in his eyes had changed.
For the first time — he wasn't just a boy searching for answers.
He was someone beginning to understand who he truly was.
*
Julie sat on the bench by the old field, curled up in a thin sweater.
Her eyes were red, hands clenched in anxious fists. She hadn't slept well for days.
She felt something watching her.
She dreamed of someone tugging at her soul.
And today... she saw her.
Jeremy found her easily.
"Hey," he said quietly, approaching slowly, like he was afraid she might push him away. "Can I sit?"
She nodded.
He sat beside her — not too close.
Just close enough that she could feel the warmth radiating from his shoulder.
"I think I'm losing my mind," she said suddenly, her voice a mix of sorrow and fear. "I know it sounds crazy, but... something's wrong. With this place. With me."
Jeremy didn't answer right away.
He looked at her — long and careful.
Then he reached out and gently touched her fingers.
"You're not crazy, Julie. Someone... something... is trying to break you. But I won't let it."
There was no doubt in his eyes. No fear.
Only strength and tenderness.
The kind she didn't expect from him.
"How do you know?" she asked, looking him straight in the eyes.
"Because I know what it's like to be watched. To fight and have no one believe you."
Jeremy leaned closer.
"But I believe you. And I'll protect you. Even if everything else fails — I won't."
Their eyes met.
And for a brief moment, the world fell silent.
No nightmares. No darkness.
Just the two of them — two young, lost souls, trapped in the worst possible place... but not alone.
Julie smiled through her tears.
And even though she was still afraid — she was certain of one thing.
With Jeremy by her side,
she could survive anything.